PROTESTER:
00:03:55
You should be arrested. What you're doing is despicable. The American people do not want to go to war. We don't want to go to war for any [INAUDIBLE]. Further interruptions of our hearing will be treated in like manner. We appreciate the First Amendment rights of Americans to express themselves, but disruption of this hearing will not be tolerated. So, Mr. Secretary, you may continue. I'll bl-- I'll briefly provide some concrete, high level metrics of what we've accomplished over just the past few months. These are announced new facilities and investments to support American warfighters. The Department has helped stimulate more than 250 private investment deals in 39 states, 180 cities in 150 companies worth more than $50 billion. It's resulted in 280 new or expanded facilities, more than 18 million new square feet of American manufacturing, and more than 70,000 new jobs. These $50 billion in investments in new plants, new assembly lines, and new factories are private investments, not taxpayer dollars. By completely transforming our department's business model, American companies are investing in America with their own dollars. A historic demonstration of American manufacturing and defense revitalization. All with their money, not Uncle Sam's. This has never been done before and is long overdue from a bureaucratic model to a business model. These investments equal great things for America, for American families and American workers, to ensure that our warfighters have everything they need all-American made. Together with the help of the policy updates and appropriations passed by Congress, President Trump's war department has begun to turn the lights back on in our manufacturing towns across this country, forging a lethal arsenal of freedom. Every policy we pursue, every budgetary item we request, serves to ensure that this Department remains laser focused on increasing lethality and survivability from the front lines to the factory floor. This is a historic budget, as you said, Mr. Chairman. This is a fiscally responsible budget. And this is a warfighting budget. Speaking of warfighting, the topic of Iran, I'm sure will come up often today, which I welcome. I look forward to sharing the incredible success of our military effort achieved in a matter of weeks. President Trump has the courage, has had, unlike other presidents, to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. And that their nuclear blackmail never succeeds. We have the best negotiator in the world driving a great deal. Unfortunately, as I said yesterday, and I'll say it again today, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless naysayers and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans. Defeatists from the cheap seats who, two months in, seek to undermine the incredible efforts that have been undertaken and the historic nature of taking on a 47-year threat with the courage no other president has had to great success and great opportunity for preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Despite this, under President Trump, we are restoring the unbreakable might of American manufacturing. We're providing for our warfighters, and we are putting the people and interests of this country first. May Almighty God continue to watch over our troops wherever they are. And we honor the legacy of those brave Americans that we have lost. This is our sacred mission and this is what we will continue to execute on. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for that statement, Mr. Secretary. General Caine, you're recognized. Thank you. Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, members of the committee, and your staff who we never get to say thanks to. Thanks for having me today. I'm honored to be here alongside the honorable Pete Hegseth and the honorable Jay Hurst to testify on the president's fiscal 2027 budget. I'm grateful for the opportunity to testify today, and I'm thankful for your continued partnership and support of our warfighters defending the homeland and our interests around the world. It's a privilege to speak with you today about the foundation of America's strength, the 2.8 million members of our joint force, and I am continually inspired by the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, Coast Guardsmen, and civilians standing the watch for the nation, supported always by their families. They could have chosen a much easier path, any other path, but they volunteered for a life of purpose and passion and service. And every single day they rise to meet the challenge-- challenges. From combat operations, to critical support roles, with the courage, tenacity, and grit that keeps our nation strong and secure. I would also like to express my deep gratitude for the 39 members of the joint force who have passed and operations, combat and training during my time as the chairman, and specifically highlight the 14 who've passed in Operation Epic Fury. The secretary and I are deeply grateful for each of them and their families, and their names will never be forgotten. As the chairman, my duty is to ensure our civilian leadership has a comprehensive range of military options and the associated risks required to make the nation's hardest and most complex decisions. I owe the president, the secretary, and the Congress the truth at every turn. And my blueprint for this role has always been that of General George C. Marshall. His firm commitment to civilian control and nonpartisan-- and nonpartisan military, remains my constant standard, and I strive to emulate his candor, delivering the facts leaders need to hear, not always what they want to hear. And once a decision is made, executing it with the absolute dedication while keeping the joint force precisely where it should be. That's the demand of our profession. As I sit before you today representing our incredible joint force, I want to emphasize my commitment to this committee and to the Congress. I will always follow General Marshall's steadfast example by providing clear and candid nonpartisan military advice, working together to ensure the military remains squarely focused on one thing, being prepared to deter and if called upon, fight and win our nation's war. And that is our mission. America's joint force is operational at its core, purpose built for the realities in a complex world where organized, trained, and equipped to execute the most demanding missions across the globe with unrivaled precision. And over the past year, our warfighters have consistently demonstrated exactly what it means to be the most capable and most professional force on Earth. Our shared goal is to ensure the joint force remains the strategic-- sustains the strategic initiative and advantage and ability to project power to respond to the global challenges on our nation's terms. During Operation Roughrider, Midnight Hammer, Southern Spear, Absolute Resolve, and Epic fury, the joint force executed globally integrated missions alongside our interagency and international partners. And once our leaders made a decision, our forces demonstrated the unmatched ability to seamlessly synchronize actions and activities from the seabed to cislunar space. We're able to accomplish these complex things that we are asked to do because we draw from a deep reservoir of training, professionalism, and commitment. Our operational tempo is high, but we're designed to sustain it rebuilding readiness every day, training professionals every day, and sharpening our edge every day. And I am incredibly proud of this joint force team and the leaders at every echelon who command it. As the chairman said, we are living in a complex environment. Today, I look forward to discussing how we can sustain America's military advantage. And I know this committee recognizes the challenges, and the urgency in the environment that we face. We're operating in delicate and dangerous times where risk is scaling. And the complexity of the modern battlefield demands America's constant adaptation, innovation, and partnership with Congress. As a joint force, were up to the challenge. We're built for this environment. However, our continued success is not guaranteed by our past achievements. We must continue to be forward-looking and innovate together with the Congress. To drive the pace of change and maintain our superiority, requires timely, predictable, and sustained investment. And the resources we're going to discuss today are critical to modernizing the joint force and ensuring whatever threats might emerge, we are prepared to defeat them, to protect our interests and defend the nation and win. This president's budget for 2027 supports the secretary and the department's goal of reinvigorating, recharging the defense industrial base and the national industrial base, enhancing our readiness and securing our military advantage. To ensure that our warfighters are properly armed, globally integrated, and ready, while always taking care of our people. And that is what truly sets America's joint force apart from each other. Especially, the 1.8 million members, enlisted members of our joint force. It is them, the character, the competence of that force that transforms our capabilities into a decisive advantage. And our enlisted force is represented today by the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of United States Navy Fleet Master Chief Dave Isom, sitting behind me. A teammate who I greatly appreciate, and many of you on this committee know from his time in the Indo-Pacific. While we face dynamic and dangerous times, I have absolute trust and confidence in the extraordinary men and women within our joint force who every day execute the missions we ask them to quietly and with precision. And coupled with the American spirit to outthink, outcompete, and relentlessly innovate, we will maintain our decisive edge. But doing so requires your continued partnership. We stand ready today to answer the nation's call. I humbly ask that, as we're here today in this hearing, we remember those deployed service members who are out there right now doing our nation's work. And we always forget our-- remember our fallen and never forget them or their families who continue to show us what courage looks like. Thank you for your enduring support and I look forward to your questions.
